Lessons Queer Eye’s Fab 5 Taught Us.
Pretty much everyone watches Queer Eye or unless you've been living under a rock, then go and binge it now! Queer Eye is not your conventional makeover show on Netflix, it's jam-packed, an emotional roller coaster and brimmed with advice every episode from the FAB 5: Tan (fashion), Kamaro (culture), Jonathan (grooming), Antoni (food) and Bobby (interior design). This show is less about changing who you are and more about nurturing what you already have.
Its honestly the most empowering, fabulous and the best show on Netflix, we need something like Queer Eye to say "hey its gonna be ok" - I just want to be best friends with the Fab 5 and listen to their words of wisdom every day. These men taught us food and interior design and culture and hair and clothes, but they also taught us self love and love for others. They taught us acceptance and happiness. It shows that they may be quirky and they may have better style than us, but we are all the same.
Every individual has something to share. We all need that little (or huge) kick to push ourselves to be the best version that we can be. Here's to individuality and being confident! So here are the lessons the Fab 5 taught us.
Embrace the fierceness within
This show makes you feel like you can take on the world. There is a power within every single one of us. When you put in the effort and gain confidence in who you are and what you have to give, the sky is the limit! Being fierce is something that anyone and everyone can achieve. With some TLC to yourself, you can feel as fierce as they come.
Also confession time: I don't know if anyone else does this, but I start to give pep talks to myself — like Jonathan - when I binge watch this show for too long by myself. I'll look at myself in the mirror and be like, "You are serving me gorgeous. You are taking time for yourself. Yes, Queen".
There is strength in combining the masculine and the feminine
There is nothing inherently feminine about basic self-care. Taking care of yourself is just a thing we all have to do as a human population. Your body is a gift- you've got to take care of it. In terms of fashion on this show, one of the things I have been most inspired by is the concept of mixing the masculine and feminine and the androgyny in between because let's face it, clothes have no gender. I find myself wanting to experiment more with my style to find items of clothing that make me feel the most me and trying out different styles!
We Are All Equal
Everyone needs to find love for themselves. We are all entitled to one thing, feeling confident in ourselves. It is not about being boastful to put yourself and your accomplishments out there. You have a right to feel good about yourself and how you are impacting your world. At the end of the day, we all need to have confidence in ourselves, in our lives, and in our relationships. It doesn't matter your race, your background, your political or religious views, gender identity or your sexual orientation; we are all the same on the inside.
Everybody has a story and room for growth
We have all gone through our own struggles. It is important to reflect on where you have been, how far you've come, and where you want to go from here. As a community of human beings, let's commend our fellow friends for their successes and work to get through this crazy life together! Always keep learning and growing as people.
Don’t be afraid to seek help.
Many of the people who get made over by the Fab Five know that it is time for a change but have been afraid to ask for help. The Fab Five are uplifting and supportive, and they show everyone that there is strength in asking for help. Whether it’s with a specific task, mental health, an aspect of life or anything else, know that asking for help is a sign of strength, and never be afraid to reach out.
Allow yourself to be vulnerable.
Sometimes we fear letting others in, and we can put up walls to keep ourselves from getting hurt. While letting people in can be scary, closing ourselves off from emotions and other people can hold us back from amazing things in life. As Jonathan says, “You can’t selectively numb feeling. If you try to numb the vulnerability, you also numb joy, happiness, connection. You can’t have connection, joy and happiness without vulnerability.” Allow yourself to be vulnerable and see the amazing connections that are waiting for you.
Make yourself uncomfortable and go talk to someone who has a different opinion, worldview, lifestyle than you. This is how you become well rounded.
In today's political climate, it is so easy to just listen to respond. It is easy to turn a blind eye to another side because we often make the opposing view the enemy. In reality, the opposing view is just a different opinion. Everyone has a right to their opinion, and by allowing yourself to listen - to simply listen - opens up a whole new world of open-mindedness and understanding. And just learning to embrace different opinions without causing harm.
The biggest part of being accepted is allowing people into your world.
When we hide parts of ourselves whether it is sexuality or just interests, we are refusing the chance for people around us to engage in that part of us. Yes, it may be scary because we may not know their reaction. But, when we keep that door closed, we are refusing everyone access to that beautiful side of you.
It's not about changing who you are, it is about changing things in your life to be the best version of you!
The amazing thing about this show is that the Fab Five does not come in and completely flips their lives upside down. They meet the person where they are at and figure out ways to better help their situation. There is no right or wrong way to live your everyday life. You just have to see the areas in which need help and change things so that it works best for you. When making changes to your life, you should work on being the best version of yourself rather than somebody that you’re not.
You've got to work with what you've got.
Believe in Yourself and Your Ability to Succeed
Having a lack of confidence in yourself and who you are, can stop you from achieving your goals in life. It may even prevent you from setting goals at all. Stop saying “you can’t” and start saying “you can!” Focus on everything you can do to achieve what you set out to do. If you continue to focus on the reasons why you can’t do something, you’ll never get to where you’d like to go. I always find it helpful to write down my goals and make a list of things I can do to get closer to achieving them. And it never hurts to give yourself a little pep talk in the morning before leaving the house!
So these are the lessons the wonderful Fab Five have inspired us with. What's not to love about this reboot, its the perfect binge-worthy series for a rainy day. They are helping more than heterosexual guys, they're helping everybody and being more inclusive. Since times have changed, so has the premise of the show, making it a show for everyone. That is also part of the reasoning behind the show being called just Queer Eye and not Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
Celebrate who you are. Be the best version of you. It's all about what's in your heart. Beauty is believing in yourself. Beauty is confidence. And you're beautiful just the way you are.
